Mention de source
Michelle Darby

Biographie

Dane Swan is a Bermuda-born, Toronto-based spoken word artist, former slam poet, musician, author, and emerging editor. A former remedial English student, he is now an author of both fiction and poetry. Dane's second poetry collection, A Mingus Lullaby, was shortlisted for the Trillium Book Award for Poetry in 2017.

 

Preferred poetic styles: Lyrical page poetry, contemporary page poetry, dub poetry, and spoken word

Preferred subjects: Social justice, music, history, and popular culture

Influences: Saul Williams, Richard Wright, Wanda Coleman, Walt Whitman, Richard Pryor, and Lenny Bruce

Entrevue

Lisiez-vous de la poésie quand vous étiez à l'école ? Y a-t-il un poème en particulier dont vous vous souvenez ?

No, I didn't read much poetry in high school. The most influential poems in my environment while in high school were rap and reggae song lyrics. Whenever I was bored in school, I would pull out a notepad and try to write my own song lyrics. I was always writing something.

Quand avez-vous commencé à écrire de la poésie ? Et quand avez-vous commencé à vous considérer poète ?

I started writing poetry in elementary school. I was probably five or six. I didn't realize that I was a poet until I was in my twenties.

Comment voyez-vous le « travail » des poètes ?

A poet's job is to create a mental picture of the environment that they're in for their readers, or audience. That can be the physical space of the poet, or their mental space. Poets have historically informed the public of political turmoil, emerging issues, or even been used to create propaganda. Words have power. Being respected for your skill with words has value. An important part of being a poet is understanding that, and figuring out how you want to create spaces and conversations through the medium that you use.

Si vous avez un poème dans notre anthologie, qu’est-ce qui vous a inspiré lors de son écriture ?

I remember seeing this moment and thinking, "Isn't protest supposed to be uncomfortable? Why do people not understand  something so simple?" So, I wrote a simple poem.

Si vous deviez choisir un poème à mémoriser dans notre anthologie, lequel serait-ce ?

Kay in Summer” by Claire Harris

Les poèmes

Publications

Titre
Bending the Continuum
Maison d'édition
Guernica Edtions
Sous la direction de
Elana Wolff
Date
2011
Type de publication
Recueil
Titre
A Mingus Lullaby
Maison d'édition
Guernica Editions
Date
2017
Type de publication
Recueil
Titre(s) du ou des poème(s)
Fugue
Titre
Rampike Vol 19/ No 1 "Visual Poetics"
Maison d'édition
Rampike
Sous la direction de
Karl E. Jirgens, Marissa Reaume
Date
2010
Type de publication
Périodique/revue
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